Couple's engagement photos include a fascinating surprise in the shadows

The couple’s engagement was sealed with a heart. (Photo: Reddit/Orion_91)

People can’t get enough of this newly engaged couple and their heart-shaped shadow.

On Sunday, Ryan Moon, 26, from Des Moines, Iowa, posted a Reddit photo of himself asking his girlfriend, Haley Smith, 25, to marry him, writing: “Proposed to my girlfriend realized there is a heart in our shadows” in a post that drew more than 1,600 comments.

The photo shows Moon on bended knee in front of the Iowa State Capitol Building, where he and Smith met as staff assistants for state representatives of opposing political parties. “I saw her walking up the stairs at work one day and thought, ‘Wow, she’s beautiful,’” Moon tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Our first date was on Valentine’s Day, 2014, and I invited her to my place for a pork chop dinner to watch House of Cards.”

Ryan Moon and Haley Smith. (Photo: Courtesy of Ryan Moon)

Moon planned to propose on the same day as Smith’s family holiday photo session, and knowing the value of a social media ring shot, arranged for her girlfriend to suggest manicures beforehand. “But then Haley said she didn’t have time to get her nails done, so I encouraged her to ‘take a day for yourself,’” says Moon.

On the big day, the family (who knew about the planned proposal) took a few group shots, and then Smith’s stepmother told the couple to pose together — and that’s when Moon got down on one knee. “I asked her to be my ‘Soup snake,'” says Moon. “It’s our private joke from watching The Office — it means my soul mate.”

The emotional expression on Smith’s face did not go unnoticed on Reddit, where people shared statements such as, “I hope I can make my gf this happy one day,” “That’s a bloody beautiful picture mate, well done,” and, “Something about her facial expression is really heartwarming. Congrats dude!!”

One romantic even doctored the photo to make it black-and-white and the heart red.

The couple plan to memorialize the sweet moment. “We’ll probably apply the photo to a canvas and hang it in our home,” says Moon. “It’s our favorite.”